Laurin Heinrich and AO Racing’s ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R charged to GTD Pro class victory at the 73rd running of the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring.
‘Rexy’ the fan-favourite T-Rex and the #77 Porsche driver crew conquered the GTD Pro category at a hot and humid Sebring International Raceway in a spectacle.
Heinrich earned their way to victory following an intense sprint at the end, much assisted by the work of his co-drivers Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello.
The race start was hectic and gripping in both GTD Pro and GTD but one which began without much drama across the two fields.
Pole-sitter Albert Costa in the #81 Dragonspeed Ferrari 296 GT3 retained his lead on Heinrich in the #77 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R who swerved slightly to defend his second position.
The primary change was Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO who fell from P2 to P6 on the race start.
GTD pole-sitter and Ferrari works driver Alessandrio Pier Guidi established an early lead, unsurprisingly, in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 before suffering a brake failure into Turn 10.
He escaped further damage apart from the front-left brake unit which was replaced following an imminent pit stop.
A short yellow caution period for contact between Tobias Lutke (#18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 LMP2) and Luis Perez Companc (#88 AF Corse Oreca 07 LMP2) passed and the lead battle resumed, although Verhagen climbed back into the fight.
The second caution period came from controversial circumstances after Ricky Taylor (#40 WTR Cadillac V-Series.R) seemingly tapped Charles Scardina’s #023 Triarsi Competizione into the wall at Turn 13.
Proceedings continued with 10-hours and 45-minutes remaining and it was the #77 Porsche of Picariello in the lead on Verhagen’s #1 BMW.
Verhagen takes GTD Pro lead from ‘Rexy’
Verhagen demonstrated eager spirit to take the lead as the pair went door-to-door in their gripping fight as ‘Rexy’ kept the top spot.
It was until the next restart, after the third caution, when Verhagen made a reactive move to the lead on the restart.
As the race entered its third racing hour, Alexander Sims had to pit his #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for an unscheduled pit stop to change failing Tyre Pressure Management System sensors.
The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jose Maria Lopez endured contact with Jesse Krohn’s #48 Paul Miller BMW which led to an extensive front-right suspension repair job for the Lexus, even if the contact was brief.
Miraculously, or rather through the lack of further dramas and utilising cautions, the #21 Ferrari climbed its way back into the GTD class lead with Pier Guidi turning swift pace at the wheel.
After four hours of running, the top-runners in the GTD Pro class consisted of Corvette, Paul Miller Racing and Ford Multimatic.
After a fifth caution, Daytona pole-sitter Mike Rockenfeller led a thrilling charge in his #64 Ford Mustang GT3 on the #1 BMW being driven by Connor De Philippi, followed by Max Hesse’s #48 BMW, the #4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Heinrich.
Over the following hour, the lead battle evolved slightly so that Verhagen had 1.4 seconds on Picariello’s #77 Porsche which was marginally ahead ahead of Krohn’s #48 BMW.
Then, in the eighth racing hour, Christopher Mies headed a fight for P3 against Verhagen and Picariello.
Lilou Wadoux led heartbreak for the #21 Ferrari team when a mechanical issue halted their comeback effort.
BMW vs Porsche heading into Hour 10
The 12 Hours of Sebring entered the 10th hour with less fortunate news for Corvette, who were out of the running with issues on their #3 machine as Nico Varrone’s #4 fell out of lead contention due to a non-functioning scrutineering logger.
Last year’s British GT champion Dan Harper steadily turned on the pace so that he eventually fought past Dennis Olsen’s #65 Ford for the GTD Pro lead.
Since Harper took the lead, he quickly established a gap to three seconds on Olsen as #1 Snow kept him company in third place.
WIth 1-hour and 10-minutes remaining, Heinrich made his key move for the lead on Hesse as their fight intensified in the final hour.
Paul Miller Racing initially gambled with the prospect of another eighth imminent caution period by underfueling and running a slightly lesser stint-lap count in order to foresee the gamble.
Unfortunately, it never came around though they kept at the sharp end of the GTD Pro battle. The eighth caution did come as a result of Scott Andrew’s #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG and its puncture debris on the back-straight.
It came down to a 31-minute sprint to the finish with Heinrich ahead of Hesse, De Philippi, Costa, and Sebastien Priaulx’s #64 Ford.
With 23-minutes remaining, the tension was hot as Heinrich set a GTD Pro lap record, a 2:00.500.
In fact, Heinrich and Hesse were setting near identical lap times as just 1.2s separated them, before Hesse then set the fastest race lap of his #48 BMW.
Heinrich indirectly responded with his own lap record again, a 2:00.451 as ‘Rexy’ ran decently ahead of Hesse at a 1.3s margin.
Reigning champions win in GTD Pro and GTD
After 329 laps, the #77 Porsche crew sought victory and reaffirmed their mark as reigning GTD Pro champions.
At 4.371 seconds behind, the #48 BMW of Max Hesse and co-drivers Dan Harper and Jesse Krohn took second ahead of the other #1 BMW of Connor de Philippi – and his co-drivers Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen.
Alberto Costa took fourth for Dragonspeed’s #81 Ferrari crew and his teammates Giacomo Altoe and Davide Rigon.
Sebastien Priaulx rounded out the top-five in the #64 Ford with the help of co-drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Ben Barker.
Simultaneously into the final 31 minutes – in GTD – six different manufacturers held the top-six positions.
It became a task for Philip Ellis and the reigning GTD champions Winward Racing (#57 Mercedes-AMG) on whether they would be able take the lead from Jack Hawksworth’s #12 Lexus.
Hawksworth led the final restart ahead of Ellis, Daniel Serra’s #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari, Charlie Eastwood’s #36 DXDT Corvette, Tom Gamble’s #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and Frederick Schandorff’s #70 Inception Racing Ferrari.
Ellis eventually tried a move outside of Hawsworth for the lead, before again outside at T10 but Hawksworth held his ground before the pair touched nose-to-tail and shortly after overtaking the lapped #3 Corvette of Sims.
Winward Racing’s #57 Mercedes-AMG crew took victory with Ellis and his co-drivers Russell Ward and Indy Dontje after 327 laps.
At 3.265 seconds behind in P2 was Hawksworth and his #12 Lexus co-drivers Franke Montecalvo and Parker Thompson, followed by Gamble’s #27 Aston Martin and co-drivers Casper Stevenson and Zach Robichon.
See here for the unofficial race results and here for the unofficial race results ordered by class.
